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Eygreen
Eygreen is a small verdant island in the Kingdom of Kul Tiras. Home to a small population centred around the small city of Carrickton, it is ruled by the House of Carrickton. Its status remained largely unknown following the Third War until the expedition to investigate its status by men in the service to Heinrich d'Fiendeyrr. History Pre-Settlement No history is known with any certainty before the settlement of the island in 1500AD. However, the island is the site of several significant troll ruins in the Eygreen, suggesting that at some point it was inhabited by a permanent population of forest trolls. No conflict with the trolls is recorded in the early ledgers of the settlement, which are instead dominated by encounters with gnolls and wolves. The current hypothesis is that the gnolls migrated from the mainland by raft or canoe, with the trolls either abandoning the island after the Troll Wars or being wiped out by the new arrivals. Discovery and Settlement The first records of Eygreen appear on Imperial navigational charts from around 400AD, where the island was recorded as being of little value and subsequently ignored until its settlement in 1500AD. While the prevailing wisdom was that the island held nothing of worth and sailor's tales spoke of seeing gnolls on the shores and in primitive ships, the newly independent Kingdom of Kul Tiras was determined to place outposts on as many of the islands of Baradin Bay as possible, in part to provide advance warning of attempts at subjugation by the Kingdom of Arathor and of raids from the Kingdom of Tol Barad. Captain Terry Roth was ordered to establish a supply post on the island, and after a survey of the island's coastline, selected the natural Bay of Glass as the site. The post was named Rothston in his honour, and became the site of a gradually growing community of retired sailors - and of a number of violent skirmishes with the gnolls infesting the Eygreen forest. In 1504AD, Roth received permission to take a detachment of troops from the populous central isles of Kul Tiras to prevent the loss of the strategically placed island. Two-Year Turmoil Like many areas of Kul Tiras, the island of Eygreen was battered by severe storms, earthquakes and freak waves in the Cataclysm of 363. Large areas of coastal soil were scoured from the island, fundamentally reshaping the Bay of Glass (deepening it significantly and gouging out the original settlement of Rothston), stripping much of the western face entirely down to the mountains, and creating the Splintered Bay whole-cloth. In the chaos that followed, refugees from from smaller outlying islands that were washed out flooded onto Eygreen, and the home of the reclusive House of Carrickton#Sir Jack Carrington soon became the centre of the tent-village of Carrickton. King Egan's War From the calamity emerged a dire political situation. On the fortress-island of Luther's Spit a charismatic young Duke, Egan de Wavewalker, seized control of the army garrison and local fleet sheltering from the fierce seas, and declared himself the true and rightful King of Kul Tiras. With long months to fortify his hold on the strategic central island, King Egan was able to repel the initial assaults by the Loyalists. Sir Jack Carrington swiftly re-affirmed his loyalties to the House of Proudmoore and began work to repair the ships in his own harbourage, unknowing that the final days of the war would be fought on the island of Eygreen, shaping the future of his Kingdom, his House, and what was soon to be declared his lawful territory. Hydrography Bay of Glass The most important feature of the small island is the large and open Bay of Glass, so named for its calm and clear waters. While largely open to waves stirred by southerly winds, the bay is protected from many of the prevailing winds of the Baradin Sea by the hills along the east and west coasts of the island, with the two islands within offering further protection for ships in the safe anchorage of Carrickton. They Bay of Glass was greatly altered in the massive storms that followed the Cataclysm of 363. Splintered Bay A much less hospitable port to sail into, the splintered bay was created by a powerful earthquake some centuries ago. Long, narrow and home to spurs of jagged rock, it is navigable only because its currents are relatively gentle. Its main importance has been in providing fish and fowl for the island, as the rocks are home to colonies of seabirds and shelter populations of oysters, mussels, and crabs, particularly in the brackwish water where the Whitlam river empties into the bay. Kingsblood River So named for the battle at its source, the Kingsblood river is a broad river flowing into the Bay of Glass. Home to estuarine fish and fresh-water fish in its northern reaches, this thirty-five mile long river flows remarkably vigorously thanks to fresh-water springs at its source. It provides much of the irrigation for the farmlands surrounding Carrickton and Buttersfield. Geography Isle of the Hyenas A pair of inhospitable, sun-baked islands off the south-east coast of Eygreen, the misnamed Isle of the Hyenas holds little of value to the human population. It has been left to its namesake, the savage Gnolls, as there is no great purpose to pursuing the beastmen past the reefs protecting the near-barren islands. In prior years, periodic naval bombardments answered Gnoll raids on shipping; but the guns of the decimated Kul'tiran navy have fallen quiet since the end of the Third War. Coldspur and Hotspur A pair of rocky islands in the Bay of Glass, both Coldspur and Hotspur are largely uninhabited, with the exception of a small fishing post and light-house on the Hotspur. Both, however, are home to remarkably sizeable hewn-stone villages, used in prior years to quarantine crews suspected of carrying disease. Following a brief outbreak of the Scourge Plague on the Coldspur, the island was abandoned, and today no fisherman nor trader sets foot on it for fear of lingering taint. The Verdant Cape Covered in dense forest, the Verdant Cape was a welcome sight to travellers sailing back from Kul Tiras's outposts in the Great Sea. Its long, narrow peak, lit by a beacon, could be seen for miles in good weather, beckoning the way to safe harbour and familiar soils. It is also the site of over a dozen terrible wrecks, where the sudden winds and squalls of the Great Sea carried unsuspecting crews onto the rocks. The Sandy Hills Old sandstone and limestone outcroppings, the sandy hills support limited life, particularly a few hardy palms and cacti brought by travellers centuries ago. Carved through its centre is a road leading from Norport to Carrickton, once troubled by Gnolls until the reign of Sir Ahriman Carrickton, who in 522KY drove the beasts from the island, save for isolated camps in the Disputed Plains and the worthless rocks of the Isle of the Hyena. The Disputed Plains An area of wind-swept but fertile soil, home to tall grasses and low brush, the Disputed Plains is one of the few areas of Eygreen not adequately reclaimed from the Gnolls in the reign of Sir Ahriman. Today, it remains the domain of Gnoll tribes, and the garrisons established with men from Carrickton to police their activities presumably rest empty - or worse, have been taken by the beasts themselves. Settlements As for many of the islands of Kul Tiras, the sea trade was the lifeline for much of Eygreen's populace, and its three largest townships are located along the coast. Carrickton The small township of Carrickton, numbering just under one thousand people at the last recorded count in 613KY, is the capital of the Island and its largest settlement. Surrounded by farms that supplied much of the island with grain and goat cheese, it was also home to the only true stronghold on the island, Castle Stillwind. Buttersfield Located some ten miles from Carrickton, Buttersfield is a small farming village, home to orchards and a handful of vineyards, ringed by small farmhouses. With Carrickton close enough to respond quickly to Gnoll raids, it prospered in the years following the House of Carrickton's rise to prominence in the Kul Tiran peerage. While its status today is uncertain, if life exists yet on the isle, Buttersfield is likely to be unchanged: A relatively calm and restful place of farmers and weekly markets. In the 613KY census, it was home to some three hundred and fifty people. Oakridge So named for the great oaks growing in the hills surrounding it, Oakridge was the centre of the island's limited lumber industry, largely sending wood to Carrickton and Norport to be made into boats and small sailing ships. Unlike Buttersfield, it is sufficiently isolated that even after Ahriman's purge of the gnolls, it never truly prospered for fear of raids by the savage beastmen in the woods. It was, in the 613KY census, home to just over two hundred people. Shatterstone The third-largest settlement on Eygreen, Shatterstone was home to seven hundred fishermen and crabbers. Built on treacherous cliffs, it is a challenging town of rock-hewn stairs and ladders, often threatened by high swells during particularly violent storms. Despite this poor location, it produced incredible quantities of fish and shellfish for sale to Carrickton, Buttersfield, and even Oakridge, and its men attained a reputation as particularly skilled sailors, ideal for taking to dangerous waters. Norport Home to just shy of eight hundred people, Norport was constructed as a trading post in 409KY and gradually developed into the township it is today. The centre of what limited stone working there is on the Isle, Norport was ideally placed to profit from the trade from Gilneas, Lordaeron and Stromgarde, but its fortunes are no doubt much diminished by the loss of those valuable ships. With limited arable land and surprisingly dry weather, it is little wonder that in recent years from the water, the town has appeared deserted. Category:Islands Category:House of Carrickton Category:Realms of Kul Tiras Category:Eygreen